1959

Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car

Dollars & Cents
Median cost of an existing family home: $15,050
Average yearly salary: $5,069
Argus M-500 movie projector: $89.95
Man's topcoat: $42.75
Steam iron: $9.88
Woman's Maidenform brassiere: $2.50
Federal hourly minimum wage: $1
Pork chops: $0.82/pound
Coffee: $0.77/pound
Cornmeal: $0.11/pound
First-class stamp: $0.04
Residential electricity, per kWh: $0.025Buick Electra 225
The long-serving Roadmaster nameplate is replaced by the Electra 225 moniker for 1959, with the 225 coming from its 225.4-inch overall length. Available as a $4,300 four-door pillared sedan and hardtop, as well as a $4,192 convertible, the new flagship is powered by a four barrel-carbureted 325hp, 401-cu.in. V-8 mated to a Twin Turbine Dynaflow transmission. The Electra 225 convertible is the official pace car of this year's Indianapolis 500.
Studebaker Lark
Studebaker is one of the few automakers to introduce a new series in 1959, and their attractive Lark compact is available with a one barrel-carbureted, 169.6-cu.in. 90hp L-head straight-six or a two barrel-carbureted, 259.2-cu.in. overhead-valve V-8 engine making 180hp. Available in base Deluxe, upscale Regal and taxi-duty long-wheelbase Econ-O-Miler series, Larks come as two- and four-door sedans, two-door station wagons and hardtop coupes.
Edsel Ranger
Ford executives are scratching their heads over the Edsel's lack of sales, so they tone down the cars' polarizing styling for 1959, smoothing the body sides and simplifying the front and rear lamp clusters. Rangers are the entry series, available in two- and four-door sedan and two- and four-door hardtop styles; they use a two barrel-carbureted 200hp, 292-cu.in. V-8, with a 145hp, 223-cu.in. straight-six engine available for thrifty buyers.
De Soto Adventurer
The premium Adventurer is De Soto's sportiest series, available only in $4,427 Sportsman coupe and $4,749 Convertible coupe trims. Befitting their top-of-the-line status, Adventurers feature a TorqueFlite automatic, special gold trim, power steering and brakes, dual radio antennas and a swivel driver's seat; coupes wear a standard faux leather roof covering. The twin four barrel-carbureted, 383-cu.in. V-8 makes 350hp with dual exhausts.
Year at a GlanceJanuary
Rebel leader Fidel Castro seizes the Cuban government
February
Rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson die in a plane crash
March
Comedian and actor Lou Costello, partner of Bud Abbott, dies at age 53
April
Famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright dies at age 89
May
Two monkeys launched into space to test flight effects on living beings return to earth alive
June
President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II dedicate the St. Lawrence Seaway in Quebec
July
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) celebrates its 50th anniversary
August
Hawaii is formally proclaimed the 50th state, after Alaska became the 49th in January
September
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev is angry about not visiting Disneyland on his U.S. visit
October
Guggenheim modern art museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in N.Y.C.
November
Ford announces that it's discontinuing production of the Edsel
December
The U.S. signs a 12-nation treaty marking Antarctica as a science preserve

This article originally appeared in the September, 2007 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.